Rio Ferdinand has criticised Chelsea for their treatment of Raheem Sterling after he was unexpectedly substituted for a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester City.
Sterling’s team exclusively revealed to Mail Sport on Sunday that he was “seeking clarity” over his future and his exclusion came as a bolt from the blue.
Ferdinand has warned Chelsea managers of the dangers of treating an ‘uncle’ in such a ‘wild’ manner.
He also claimed that Sterling’s treatment was part of a wider apathetic trend at Stamford Bridge, with players learning key information via email rather than in person.
“I see all the young players, especially in that squad, talking about Raheem, it’s like Uncle Raheem. Cole Palmer, people like Reece James, it’s Uncle Raheem,” the former Manchester United star said on Rio Ferdinand presents.
Rio Ferdinand has criticised Chelsea’s treatment of Raheem Sterling after he was left out of the squad against Manchester City
Sterling’s camp exclusively revealed to Mail Sport that he is ‘seeking clarity’ over his future
‘And he’s taken care of a lot of those guys, they come to him, so if you kick that guy in the locker room, they’re all going to limp at some point and they’re not going to take that well and you’re creating a problem in your own locker room.
‘Nobody is getting that message across clearly and from what I hear, he (Sterling) has no idea where his situation is.
‘No one from the hierarchy has ever come to him and said, “Listen, you’re redundant, we want to get rid of you.”
“And what I hear is that the last conversation we had was like, ‘Everything is fine.’”
“I hear they’re getting email notifications of (updates) and stuff like that. This is wild.”
Joleon Lescott agreed, calling it “bizarre” that “someone of that calibre in a Chelsea team” could be sacked in such a manner.
He added: ‘You’re going to ask a player to leave and obviously there are years left on the contracts, so you want to leave in good faith because then the players are OK when the circumstances arise. You leave a bit to go somewhere else, but if you treat me like a piece of shit then I won’t do you any favours.’
Meanwhile, former Chelsea star Jody Morris pointed out that Trevoh Chalobah trained intensively with Enzo Maresca during pre-season and was subsequently left out of the squad to tour the United States.
Ferdinand says Sterling is seen as an ‘uncle’ figure by players like Reece James
Cole Palmer also sees him as an “uncle” figure, Ferdinand said, as he “takes care of players”
Sterling joined Chelsea from Manchester City in 2022 and has since scored 19 goals in 81 games.
A statement from Sterling’s team ahead of Sunday’s match: ‘Raheem Sterling has signed a three-year contract with Chelsea Football Club.
‘He returned to England two weeks earlier to undertake individual training and has had a positive pre-season under the new coach, with whom he has built up a good working relationship.
‘He is, as always, committed to performing at the highest level for Chelsea FC and the fans, who he holds in high regard. Given his mention in official club material ahead of this week’s match, we expected Raheem to be involved in some way in this weekend’s match.
“As a training camp, we have always had a positive conversation with Chelsea FC and received assurances from them regarding Raheem’s future at the club. We are therefore looking forward to getting clarity on the situation.
‘Until then, we will continue to support Raheem in his desire to start the new season positively.’
Sterling has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer, with news that he is not expected to be included in the squad that takes on the Premier League champions suggesting his future at Chelsea could lie elsewhere.
Juventus are among the clubs interested in Sterling, who reportedly could leave this summer.
Daniel Sturridge has defended Sterling’s qualities and claimed he is ‘good enough’ for Chelsea
Sturridge and Sterling played together for England for a number of years, and both also played for Liverpool
Ferdinand is not the only analyst backing Sterling, an 82-cap England international.
Daniel Sturridge was also critical of the Blues’ decision to leave Sterling among the group of players left out of Sunday’s squad, despite competition in a 43-man squad being fierce.
“I want to say I have a lot of love and respect for Raheem Sterling as a footballer,” Sturridge began. “As a man, he’s like a young brother to me.
‘The timing is not great, especially on the day of the match, but he will feel he is good enough to help Chelsea Football Club.
‘In his head he’s probably thinking, “Playing City today, my old club, go out there”. I think it’s probably a surprise that he’s not involved.
‘I don’t agree with it, with the message that is being given during the daily game. It’s obviously not good timing, but Raheem Sterling is a good enough player to be in the Chelsea squad for me.’
Micah Richards, on the other hand, was harsher in his assessment of Sterling and his camp’s statement.
“We’re all left out, right? We’re all left out, and we’d all like to make statements, but Raheem and his team know exactly what they’re doing,” he said.
Micah Richards, meanwhile, criticised the timing of the statement, which was released just before Chelsea’s first game of the season
“They’re trying to make noise. There was a lot of noise around the club anyway. Everyone’s talking about the players, everyone’s talking about the ownership, everyone’s talking about, can we even guess who Chelsea’s starting XI is? Making that statement before the game is not good enough.
“I like Raheem as a player. I’ve interviewed him, he’s a really nice guy, but that doesn’t matter. We’re talking about the facts of today. That’s not going to help your teammates, and it’s probably not going to help him come back into the team.”
More to come.